I've finally started on the MASSIVE project of getting all of my old writings into this blog. It's gonna come a bit at a time, so be patient...you'll be able to see all the idiotic things I've said from at least 1996 (older stuff would have to be retyped into the system...so it may be quite some time before that gets up here).
In the meantime...
The new fall TV season essentially started last night with the two hour premiere of Prison Break. On the surface this has to be the most ridiculous idea for a TV series since...well...since 24 (we're all still wondering if ANYONE goes to take a dump during the day on this show).
I always thought that a weekly series would want a premise that they could easily stretch out for at least the golden number of 100 episodes so they could enter syndication and make mega millions. The premise here is that a guy commits a crime to get thrown into prison so he can help his brother, who's on death row and whom he believes has been framed for the crime of killing the Vice President's brother, escape. Lucky for them, the newly incarcerated brother actually helped design the prison and has tattooed blueprints and clues and other helpful hints all over his body (don't worry...only he can decipher them).
Surprisingly, the creators have churned out a rather gripping drama out of this silliness. Watching Michael (Wentworth Miller) make deals with inmates, guards and those he's left on the outside is actually kind of fun to watch. I don't know if they can sustain the good writing and heightened suspense levels for 24 episodes, but I didn't think 24 could do it either and they've got a fifth season starting in January and go into syndication on A&E very soon.
If the rest of the season's new shows are like this, I'm gonna have a very full plate again.
Tuesday, August 30, 2005
Monday, August 15, 2005
Thoughts on being in your 30s
Having just turned 36 yesterday and having something of a whirlwind weekend, I figured it was time to bring everyone up to speed again on what's going on around here.
We finally started work on my office last week. We were waiting to get the CO from the city inspectors, but we couldn't wait anymore (plus even though we didn't get the CO on inspection we don't have to worry about the inspector coming back...he told us what we needed to fix and said we could bring photos to him...of course, the old contractor has had a month so far to try and fix the problem and get us the CO and has yet to even bother...and he still has a few other minor things to finish...I think it's time to call a lawyer).
But back to my office...we've turned the storage area that exists between our garage and finished basement into a mud room and office. The new contractor working on it will have the whole thing done (at least all the parts he's doing) by the end of this week (there may be some minor hold ups by our HVAC guy, but this contractor's on the ball and the best part is he doesn't ask for money until the job's done ). It looks great so far and the only thing I'm worried about is that moving our garage door tracks up 7 inches out of my headspace when I come out the new door into the garage isn't going to be enough.
As for the rest of the house, well...the old contractor's got some minor things to finish and the new contractor's got a few other things as well...the last thing he's scheduled to do is paint the house, so everything else should be wrapped up before then...I expect everything to be done by the end of October the latest as there's nothing major the new guy's doing besides the office and re-enforcing out back deck.
As for Mac...he's getting bigger every day...and cuter as well. He's still in what we're referring to as "gremlin" stage...he makes plenty of bizarre sounds and we're learning which ones go with which activity (5 minutes of ritualistic grunting usually results in a very messy diaper). We've been testing to see how what Natasha eats affects him (yes...spinach dip does result in green poop). He already has some outfits that no longer fit him. He's pretty strong in both legs and arms...while he may not have much control over them it hurts if you're in his path of flailing.
I threw a surprise party for Tash's 30th Birthday with some major help from our friends John & Elyssa. I'm proud of the fact that not only was she completely surprised by the party, but I also got her to bake a cake for her own party and clean up all the dirty dishes as well (planning the party for the day between our birthdays was the stroke of genius...when she asked me what I wanted for my birthday the next day I just said "to not have to clean the kitchen"...yes I'm evil).
So...here I am...36 years old...with a wife, a child, a house that's near completion but still being worked on, an upcoming new business venture (more on that some other time when I'm ready to talk about it) and a few projects in various stages. After all I've been through in the course of my life, I don't think I've ever been happier.
Be seeing you
We finally started work on my office last week. We were waiting to get the CO from the city inspectors, but we couldn't wait anymore (plus even though we didn't get the CO on inspection we don't have to worry about the inspector coming back...he told us what we needed to fix and said we could bring photos to him...of course, the old contractor has had a month so far to try and fix the problem and get us the CO and has yet to even bother...and he still has a few other minor things to finish...I think it's time to call a lawyer).
But back to my office...we've turned the storage area that exists between our garage and finished basement into a mud room and office. The new contractor working on it will have the whole thing done (at least all the parts he's doing) by the end of this week (there may be some minor hold ups by our HVAC guy, but this contractor's on the ball and the best part is he doesn't ask for money until the job's done ). It looks great so far and the only thing I'm worried about is that moving our garage door tracks up 7 inches out of my headspace when I come out the new door into the garage isn't going to be enough.
As for the rest of the house, well...the old contractor's got some minor things to finish and the new contractor's got a few other things as well...the last thing he's scheduled to do is paint the house, so everything else should be wrapped up before then...I expect everything to be done by the end of October the latest as there's nothing major the new guy's doing besides the office and re-enforcing out back deck.
As for Mac...he's getting bigger every day...and cuter as well. He's still in what we're referring to as "gremlin" stage...he makes plenty of bizarre sounds and we're learning which ones go with which activity (5 minutes of ritualistic grunting usually results in a very messy diaper). We've been testing to see how what Natasha eats affects him (yes...spinach dip does result in green poop). He already has some outfits that no longer fit him. He's pretty strong in both legs and arms...while he may not have much control over them it hurts if you're in his path of flailing.
I threw a surprise party for Tash's 30th Birthday with some major help from our friends John & Elyssa. I'm proud of the fact that not only was she completely surprised by the party, but I also got her to bake a cake for her own party and clean up all the dirty dishes as well (planning the party for the day between our birthdays was the stroke of genius...when she asked me what I wanted for my birthday the next day I just said "to not have to clean the kitchen"...yes I'm evil).
So...here I am...36 years old...with a wife, a child, a house that's near completion but still being worked on, an upcoming new business venture (more on that some other time when I'm ready to talk about it) and a few projects in various stages. After all I've been through in the course of my life, I don't think I've ever been happier.
Be seeing you
Friday, August 05, 2005
Of Elevators and Police Boxes
So, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, as directed by Tim Burton is a much closer version of Roald Dahl's classic novel than the previous 1970's version entitled Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. Is one better than the other? Not necessarily...both have their pros and cons (as to the earlier version, if they were gonna add musical numbers, beyond the Oompa Loompa songs, they should have made it a full blown musical...look for that version to eventually hit Broadway), but they are both very valid and enjoyable interpretations of the same material. Don't have much else to say about it...sorry.
Meanwhile, at the end of March over in Eglnad, the BBC started airing 13 new episodes of their classic sci-fi show Doctor Who, which hadn't been on the air as a weekly series since 1989 (there was a TV movie in 1996 that was an attempt at a new series, but it didn't work for a number of reasons). The show was such a hit that a second series has been ordered (as well as a Christmas speical to air before the second series begins next March).
Unfortunately, we here in the U.S. are stuck without new Who. No networks have picked it up as of yet (in fact, the logical network, Sci-Fi, passed completely because they can't own a stake in the show) and BBC Video are not going to release the first season on DVD here until it has had a proper airing (or until mid 2006...whichever comes first).
But...I have had a chance to catch them all (won't reveal how, but it's not hard to figure out in the 21st Century...and I look forward to eventually owning what BBC Video releases as well)...and all I can say is "wow"!
The Doctor is back and better than he's ever been. The strongest parts of the old series was the acting (by the Doctors mostly) and the writing (most of the time). It was what you were able to focus on while trying not to wince or laugh at the special effects...but 16 years of technological advances and a shift in the way people write for television have given Doctor Who a proper make over...and still allowing it to remain as true to its roots as it can be.
For those not in the know, the first episode allows everyone who's an outsider in as Rose Tyler (Billie Piper) meets The Doctor (Christopher Eccelston) and helps him stop a potential invasion of the Earth by an old enemy (no...it's not the Daleks...at least in this episode). At the end of the episode, Rose joins the last surviving Time Lord (yes...you heard right...it's a mystery that slowly gets revealed as the series progresses) on his adventures through time and space in his TARDIS. We get a good glimpse of this fun and charming man of mystery (played wonderfullyby Eccelston) mainly because we get to see everything from the point of view ofthis spunky young girl who becomes his travelling companion. It's a great start (or is that restart)...and it only gets better from there...
While the season spends all of its time on Earth or just above it in a variety of orbiting space stations, we never get tired of it hoping for the Doctor to travel to some other strange world (unless miles beneath ground in Colorado counts). And the time travel aspect extends from the end of the world five billion years in the future to a meeting with Charles Dickens.
There are lots of witty bits and plenty of bones thrown to fans of the "old" show and it's an exciting ride with lots of mystery and imagination to keep everyone on the edge of their seats waiting for what will happen next (and, surprisingly there's a lots of subtextual social commentary...which may be another reason why no American TV network has picked up this very British show). I can't wait to see what happens next season (and am interested to see how they scale back on some of the violence and destruction in the wake of the tragic terrorist bombings in London last month). But it's quite honestly the best science fiction on TV right now. (or in our case over here, not on TV).
Lastly, I want to mention a disturbing trend that seems to be happening more often on DVD in regards to TV shows. Using the syndicated versions of a show and not labelling the packaging as such is just abhorrent. I can understand and forgive a few minor cuts here and there due to the silliness of having to get new music license rights, but to just flat out use prints of shows that are missing anywhere from 2 to 8 minutes of footage is just disgusting. The biggest offenders right now are "ALF" and most of the Carsey/Warner shows ("Roseanne", "The Cosby Show"). I'm letting Disney slide on "The Muppet Show" (music rights issues coupled with confusion over US & UK versions) and Sony slide on most of their shows (every now and then an odd syndicated episode shows up...they're a sloppy half-assed company in my book anyway, so I'm actually surprised they're not doing this more). Get your acts together people...it's the 21st Century for crying out loud.
Be seeing you.
Meanwhile, at the end of March over in Eglnad, the BBC started airing 13 new episodes of their classic sci-fi show Doctor Who, which hadn't been on the air as a weekly series since 1989 (there was a TV movie in 1996 that was an attempt at a new series, but it didn't work for a number of reasons). The show was such a hit that a second series has been ordered (as well as a Christmas speical to air before the second series begins next March).
Unfortunately, we here in the U.S. are stuck without new Who. No networks have picked it up as of yet (in fact, the logical network, Sci-Fi, passed completely because they can't own a stake in the show) and BBC Video are not going to release the first season on DVD here until it has had a proper airing (or until mid 2006...whichever comes first).
But...I have had a chance to catch them all (won't reveal how, but it's not hard to figure out in the 21st Century...and I look forward to eventually owning what BBC Video releases as well)...and all I can say is "wow"!
The Doctor is back and better than he's ever been. The strongest parts of the old series was the acting (by the Doctors mostly) and the writing (most of the time). It was what you were able to focus on while trying not to wince or laugh at the special effects...but 16 years of technological advances and a shift in the way people write for television have given Doctor Who a proper make over...and still allowing it to remain as true to its roots as it can be.
For those not in the know, the first episode allows everyone who's an outsider in as Rose Tyler (Billie Piper) meets The Doctor (Christopher Eccelston) and helps him stop a potential invasion of the Earth by an old enemy (no...it's not the Daleks...at least in this episode). At the end of the episode, Rose joins the last surviving Time Lord (yes...you heard right...it's a mystery that slowly gets revealed as the series progresses) on his adventures through time and space in his TARDIS. We get a good glimpse of this fun and charming man of mystery (played wonderfullyby Eccelston) mainly because we get to see everything from the point of view ofthis spunky young girl who becomes his travelling companion. It's a great start (or is that restart)...and it only gets better from there...
While the season spends all of its time on Earth or just above it in a variety of orbiting space stations, we never get tired of it hoping for the Doctor to travel to some other strange world (unless miles beneath ground in Colorado counts). And the time travel aspect extends from the end of the world five billion years in the future to a meeting with Charles Dickens.
There are lots of witty bits and plenty of bones thrown to fans of the "old" show and it's an exciting ride with lots of mystery and imagination to keep everyone on the edge of their seats waiting for what will happen next (and, surprisingly there's a lots of subtextual social commentary...which may be another reason why no American TV network has picked up this very British show). I can't wait to see what happens next season (and am interested to see how they scale back on some of the violence and destruction in the wake of the tragic terrorist bombings in London last month). But it's quite honestly the best science fiction on TV right now. (or in our case over here, not on TV).
Lastly, I want to mention a disturbing trend that seems to be happening more often on DVD in regards to TV shows. Using the syndicated versions of a show and not labelling the packaging as such is just abhorrent. I can understand and forgive a few minor cuts here and there due to the silliness of having to get new music license rights, but to just flat out use prints of shows that are missing anywhere from 2 to 8 minutes of footage is just disgusting. The biggest offenders right now are "ALF" and most of the Carsey/Warner shows ("Roseanne", "The Cosby Show"). I'm letting Disney slide on "The Muppet Show" (music rights issues coupled with confusion over US & UK versions) and Sony slide on most of their shows (every now and then an odd syndicated episode shows up...they're a sloppy half-assed company in my book anyway, so I'm actually surprised they're not doing this more). Get your acts together people...it's the 21st Century for crying out loud.
Be seeing you.
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